The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the first speaker in 1897. It was based on the British concept of Women's Guilds, created by Rev Archibald Charteris in 1887 and originally confined to the Church of Scotland. From Canada the organization spread back to the motherland, throughout the British Empire and Commonwealth, and thence to other countries. Many WIs belong to the Associated Country Women of the World organization.

Adelaide Sophia Hoodless was a Canadian educational reformer who founded the international women's organization known as the Women's Institute. She was the second president of the Hamilton, Ontario Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), holding the position from 1890 to 1902. She maintained important ties to the business community of Hamilton and achieved great political and public attention through her work.